This invention relates to safety devices for vehicles, and particularly to a safety device which is passed in front of the occupants of the vehicle on either seat to prevent such occupants from being thrown forwardly out of the seat if the vehicle should become very suddenly stopped, as by collision.
As used herein, the term "shoulder belt" refers to a seat belt having one end thereof permanently anchored on one side of the vehicle seat or the floor and the other end thereof permanently secured with respect to a portion of the roof side which is disposed on the other side of the vehicle seat wherein an intermediate portion of the seat belt is continuously disposed disgonally across the seated passenger's chest when the belt is in its protecting position.
As used herein, the term "waist belt" refers to a seat belt having one end thereof permanently anchored to a portion of the vehicle on one side of the seat or the floor and the other end thereof permanently secured with respect to a portion of the vehicle door which is disposed on the other side of the vehicle seat wherein an intermediate portion of the seat belt is continuously disposed across a portion of the vehicle seat in any opened or closed position of the vehicle door.
While various means have been previously employed for a safety belt apparatus having a pair of shoulder and waist belts for automatically securing a person to a vehicle seat upon his occupying same and turning on the vehicle's ignition, none have proven to be entirely sufficient, particularly in preventing the passenger from being passed through under the waist belt and thrown forwardly out of the seat if the vehicle should become very suddenly stopped.